Gayle looks for fresh start

Chris Gayle still wasn't all smiles as he looked out over a chilly, blustery Headingley, but was hoping to start afresh with the one-day series against England after the thumping defeat in the Test matches. Although West Indies were heavily beaten in both Tests there is still plenty of cricket for them before returning home, with this three-match ODI contest followed by the ICC World Twenty20.

"The Test series was a disaster for us so we're going to try and put that behind us and we're starting a new series now," Gayle said. "We want to get off to a good start and get some momentum going.

"The majority of the guys who are in the ODI squad will also be in the World Twenty20 squad and I'm sure this series will be a benefit for us going into that tournament. For those that are here it's important to get some personal goals in and they can benefit from that."

This West Indies side is better suited to one-day cricket although they have lost their last four series, including the 3-2 reversal against England in the Caribbean, which is a record Gayle wants to put right. "We've been a lot stronger in one-day cricket but at the same time we've lost the last few series," he said. "It will be good to get back to winning again, which will lead in well to the Twenty20 World Cup."

A vital player for them will be Dwayne Bravo, who is back in the fold after missing the Test series, following medical advice said his ankle hadn't recovered sufficiently, and instead spent his time at the IPL with Mumbai Indians. He scored 218 runs at 27.25 and took 11 wickets at 23.54 during his 11 matches in the tournament.

"It's good to have Dwayne back," Gayle said. "He's been brilliant in the IPL with bat and ball so at least he's been playing cricket. He is the sort of player that brings a lot of different strengths to the team with his batting, bowling and fielding. There's a big boost there and hopefully we can set out standards high and try to maintain it."

Gayle, too, is a vital player and he showed his hitting power with 54 off 43 balls in the second innings at Chester-le-Street. Following his comments about Test cricket last week the pressure is on for him to show leadership with bat and in the field.

"I've been hitting the ball well, but in my career I've tried to become more consistent with the bat," he said. "In the last couple of years I've followed a big score with a low one, but hopefully in these ODIs I can get a couple of scores under my belt and the team will benefit. But the main objective is to win this series and ease a bit of the talk off our back."